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Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Sophomore point guard
Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, N.J.) notched his second-career triple-double on Wednesday evening, posting 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Merrimack College men's basketball program to a 11-point Northeast-10 Conference victory against visiting Southern Connecticut State University. The victory marked Merrimack's 10
th of the season and the 900
th win in men's basketball history.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 80, Southern Conn. 69
Records: Merrimack (10-4, 7-1 NE10) | Southern Conn. (6-6, 3-4 NE10)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
Marquee Moments:
- Despite Southern Connecticut coming within one point on three separate occasions in the second half, the Warriors led coast-to-coast in the second stanza to keep the Owls at bay
- With the score at 54-53 with 7:24 on the clock, the Warriors outscored the Owls by 10, 26-16, over the remainder of the game to finally pull away
- Junior Troy McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) started the run with a three-pointer – one of four on the night – while sophomore Devon Moore (Hanover, Pa.) scored nine of his 11 points in the final 5:31 of the game. Hayes collected six points, four assists and two rebounds during the game-closing run
Rapid Recap
- Back-to-back treys from McLaughlin and sophomore Jaleel Lord (Jersey City, N.J.) turned 10-9 deficit into a 15-10 lead, prompting a Southern Conn. timeout with 12:29 left in the opening half
- The next seven minutes, however, saw the Owls use a 18-6 run to pull ahead, 28-21, which proved to be the visitors largest advantage of the night
- McLaughlin converted a four-point play on the next possession, igniting a 17-4 first-half ending run for the Warriors. Freshman Devin Jensen (Brielle, N.J.) scored five points off the bench during the run, including a corner triple with 2:23 left that marked the opening stanza's final bucket
- The first 13 minutes of the second half were a series of runs. The Warriors went on a 5-0 spurt to build a nine-point lead, only to have the visitors answer with eight unanswered to cut their deficit to one, 43-42, with 15:36 on the clock
- Senior Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) hit a triple that started a 7-0 Merrimack spurt, but the Owls countered with a 7-0 stretch of their own to bring the score back down to a one-point margin, 50-49, with 11:03 remaining in the game
- McLaughlin's triple sank with 7:04 on the clock, which promoted a seven-minute stretch to end the game that saw the Warriors shoot 7-of-9 from the field and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line
Notes and Notables
- Hayes' triple-double recorded as the 10th of the season nationwide, and the Paterson native is the ninth student-athlete overall to triple up this season. He is the first player in the East Region this year with a triple-double
- His previous triple-double came last season against Concordia, which saw the floor general register 22 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. Tonight's triple-double featured a 12-point, eight-rebound and six-assist second half, with Hayes shooting 8-of-9 at the charity stripe in the closing stanza
- Playing in his second game back from injury, McLaughlin poured in a season-best 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting off the bench. The junior guard drained 4-of-8 three-point attempts, as well
- Moore scored 11 points for the third time in his last four games. Merrimack is now 5-1 this season when the second-year wing hits at least one trey
- Merrimack's reserves dominated Southern Connecticut's, outscoring the Owls' bench 33-11
Up Next
Merrimack travels to Pace University on Saturday afternoon for a NE10 road tilt against the Setters. Tip-off in Pleasantville, N.Y. is set for 3:30 p.m.
